"Ran" into the FAA yesterday...
Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 7:41 pm
I was loading a Hawker with an incredible amount of baggage yesterday at Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island, when we noticed the Challenger jet parked next to us had a very short tail number....N85. (FAA)
It was commented on that since the gear pins and pitot-covers were still installed, that the crew and personnel must be occupied elsewhere, so we cont'd to scratch our heads how passengers could possibly have expected us to cram all this baggage and Xmas gifts, island purchases, etc., plus lifevests, 12-man raft, catering, 8 adults and an infant onboard this thing. A few minutes later we realized 3 guys wearing black nametags were observing us with some degreee of interest as we sweated, shoved and jammed this stuff onto the airplane.
The worst part was that yet-another laden baggage-cart awaited us inside the FBO terminal which req'd me to walk directly past these fellows.
As I did, I kept my eyes downward avoiding all eye-contact when all of a sudden one of them called out to me, "Hey! George!"
It was an inspector to whom I'd administered a sim-check-ride only 8 months ago!
He offered to accompany me for a cup of coffee. Whew!
(They were in the islands to investigate the American accident in Jamaica last week.)
It was commented on that since the gear pins and pitot-covers were still installed, that the crew and personnel must be occupied elsewhere, so we cont'd to scratch our heads how passengers could possibly have expected us to cram all this baggage and Xmas gifts, island purchases, etc., plus lifevests, 12-man raft, catering, 8 adults and an infant onboard this thing. A few minutes later we realized 3 guys wearing black nametags were observing us with some degreee of interest as we sweated, shoved and jammed this stuff onto the airplane.
The worst part was that yet-another laden baggage-cart awaited us inside the FBO terminal which req'd me to walk directly past these fellows.
As I did, I kept my eyes downward avoiding all eye-contact when all of a sudden one of them called out to me, "Hey! George!"
It was an inspector to whom I'd administered a sim-check-ride only 8 months ago!
He offered to accompany me for a cup of coffee. Whew!
(They were in the islands to investigate the American accident in Jamaica last week.)